


Somewhere Only We Know

by raisedufromperdition



Series: Oneshots [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-26 07:54:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30102726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raisedufromperdition/pseuds/raisedufromperdition
Summary: The bench overlooking the lake in Central Park was the place Dan would go to lose himself in his thoughts and be alone. That is, until Phil Lester joins him one day, and suddenly Dan is no longer going to the bench to be alone. Suddenly the bench is where he gains a best friend, and where he falls in love.
Relationships: Dan Howell/Phil Lester
Series: Oneshots [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2215026
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	Somewhere Only We Know

With a heavy sigh, Dan collapsed onto his usual bench. He heaved his backpack off his shoulders and set it next to him, immediately stuffing his hands back in his jacket pockets. For a spring day, it was bitterly cold. Turning up his music, Dan marveled at how crowded Central Park was. It was always busy, but today it was packed, which was incredibly surprising for a Wednesday. He was lucky he even managed to get an empty bench, considering all of the other ones surrounding him were full.

Joggers ran past him, dogs trotted by with their owners in tow and kids threw a football back and forth. It was a typical day in New York. Dan briefly closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the bench. University was exhausting. For it being his third year, he thought it wouldn’t be so damn difficult and that he’d have the hang of it by now. Shaking his head to clear those thoughts from his mind, Dan instead chose to focus on his music rather than the alarming amount of homework he had building up.

As the sun began to make its way through the gray clouds, Dan’s breathing began to slow as he felt the warmth of the sun spread through his body. Just as he was on the verge of falling asleep, he felt the bench dip as someone joined him. His eyes shot open as he noticed the guy that took the seat next to him. His jet black hair was styled much like his own, and his piercing blue eyes were looking at him; and somehow his skin was more translucent than his own. His eyes lingered on his pink lips and that’s when he noticed he was saying something. Dan yanked the headphones out of his ears and sat up straight.

“Sorry, what?”

The man laughed before repeating himself. “I asked if it was okay if I sit here.”

“Oh,” Dan muttered unintelligibly. “Yeah, of course, that’s not a problem.”

“Thanks,” He replied sheepishly. “I didn’t expect the park to be so crowded today, and you looked like the kind of person who would be the least likely to mug me.”

Dan laughed at that, as the guy began rummaging through his own backpack. “Well in that case I’m honored to have passed your judgement test.”

“You know, you should be. Only a lucky few pass it,” He retorted, and pulled the book he was searching for out of his bag. Dan snuck a glance at it and saw it was Macbeth.

“Is that for a class?” Dan questioned, gesturing to the book.

“No, it’s something I actually enjoy reading in my own time. Is that weird?” He asked, his nose wrinkling up ever slightly.

“No, not at all. I actually love Shakespeare. I’m taking a class on him right now, at NYU.”

“Really? That’s awesome. Which of his plays is your favorite?”

“Hamlet,” Dan answered immediately.

“Hmm...I would have pegged you for an Othello type.”

“You would have? I mean Othello is good and all, but there’s something about the method to Hamlet’s madness that makes it my favorite.”

The man grinned at that and opened the book to a dog-eared page. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Dan ended up staying at the park longer than he originally intended; by the time he left it was nearing dark and the chill had seeped deep down inside him. He hailed down a taxi and leaned his head against the window as his thoughts trailed to the man he met in the park today. They ended up talking for nearly an hour before the guy had to rush off to work and that’s when Dan realized he never bothered to catch his name. Dan cursed himself for it, because it was highly unlikely he would ever see him again, and one thing was for sure: he sure as hell wanted to.

The next day Dan found himself at that exact same park bench at the exact same time in hopes of running into the same guy from yesterday. He pulled out a book from one of his classes in attempt to get some homework done, but his eyes kept running over the same sentence repeatedly as his mind wandered. Sighing in defeat, Dan threw the textbook back into his bag and observed the park occupants: Children were playing, dogs were running and tourists were snapping pictures. It was the usual, but unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be a certain guy with black hair. Dan began to lose hope in ever finding this guy again.

He was unable to return to the park until that following Wednesday. He stopped and got a coffee on his way, knowing he had a lot of studying ahead of him. The weather was still bitterly cold, as if it was stubborn in accepting that it was finally spring. The wind stung his face as he made his way into Central Park. Today it was much more quiet than last week. Dan smiled at that as he made his way down the winding paths to where the wind was blocked by the large trees.

This was his usual spot. He discovered it when he was fourteen and needed a quiet place to think. He was walking through the park on a day much like today, and his skin was a bright red from the cold. But as he came down the hill, the wind completely stopped and he found a bench overlooking one of the many lakes. Since that day, this has been his spot. As his bench came into sight, he stopped in his tracks when he found someone was already there.

Annoyed, Dan made his way to the bench. Of all the spots in the park, this person had to sit at his bench. But as he approached it, his annoyance quickly vanished when he saw the familiar black hair and blue eyes. Dan grinned and sat next to him.

“Mind if I join you?”

The guy looked up from his book and returned Dan’s smile, his blue eyes lighting up. “I mean, since the park is just so busy, I suppose I could let you sit here.”

“You know, if someone hadn’t taken my bench, I wouldn’t be forced to sit with them.”

“What if that someone sat at this bench in hopes of that happening?”

Dan blushed at that, and paused to take a drink of his coffee, in hopes of composing himself. “Well in that case, I’m glad that someone sat here.”

“I’m Phil, by the way.” Phil. He looked like a Phil, Dan thought to himself and smiled.

“Dan.”

“So, tell me Dan, do you always sit at this bench? Or only on rare occasions, such as stalking some guy whose name you just learned?”

Dan laughed at that, and playfully rolled his eyes. “First of all, don’t flatter yourself. I believe, you’re the one who sat at my bench in hopes of finding me. And second of all, I tend to sit here, yes. It’s the most peaceful here.”

Phil chuckled and looked out at the lake. “I agree, it does seem to be the most peaceful over here. Less distractions; it makes it easier to read.”

“Exactly,” Dan agreed, looking out at the lake as well. Typically Dan is one of those people who appreciates being alone. He likes the silence and being able to hear himself think. He doesn’t need to be constantly surrounded by conversation to be happy. This is why Central Park quickly became his favorite spot. He could be secluded, while surrounded by a large city, something about that was comforting to him. But now, he didn’t mind having Phil next to him. This was his spot he went to study, unwind or just to think. This was the spot he never felt the need to have company -- until now. He was comforted by Phil’s presence next to him, and suddenly he realized it felt a whole lot less lonely.

They didn’t talk much for they were both reading: Phil for pleasure, and Dan for school. There was the occasional conversation here and there, but they were both content sitting side by side, doing their own thing. There were no expectations to keep a conversation going and that’s what was best. By the time it started to get late and the sun neared the horizon, they said their goodbyes and agreed to meet back at the bench next Wednesday.

Wednesdays soon became Dan’s favorite days; these were the days he spent with Phil. Sometimes they would sit and talk the whole time about their interests, university or just life in general; and other times they would sit in silence and just enjoy the other’s presence. Soon, Wednesdays weren’t enough for Dan or Phil, and they began meeting Saturday mornings as well.

As it began to warm up, and the sun began to shine more frequently, the park became busier and their bench wasn’t always open. This prompted them to lazily walk along paths, laughing and joking, and suddenly their friendship began to evolve into something so much more.

It was the end of the spring semester, and upon finishing their last set of finals, they decided to go out and celebrate. They went to a small bar in Greenwich Village, that was crowded but not packed like it always is in Manhattan. The two of them were sitting in a small booth in the corner of the dimly lit bar, both on their third or fourth drink -- they seemed to have lost count. It turns out these drinks were exactly what the two of them needed. By the end of the night, Phil had Dan pressed against the wall in the bar, with his lips fervently moving against the younger’s. Dan’s hands were resting on Phil’s hips, pulling him closer, making up for all of the times he’s imagined this happening. It was when Phil gently bit Dan’s bottom lip that they pulled away, breathless and Dan suggesting they go back to this apartment -- which is exactly what they did.

-

The leaves were now ablaze with red, gold and a soft orange as Dan and Phil sat on the bench looking over the lake. Phil had his arm around his boyfriend as Dan leaned against him, sipping on his coffee. It was the beginning of October, and bound to be one of the last nice days of the year.

“You want to know something?” Phil muttered to Dan, breaking their comfortable silence.

“Hmm?” Dan hummed in response.

“Do you remember when I first sat with you on this bench when the park was crowded?”

“Yeah why?”

“Well, there were actually quite a bit of open benches, just above the hill, but I saw this as a perfect opportunity to talk to you.”

Dan grinned at that, and sat up to face Phil. “And you called me the stalker,” He teased, causing Phil to roll his eyes.

“Oh shut up.”

“Make me.”

“Really, in public Dan?” Phil winked.

Dan’s face immediately flushed and felt hot, despite the cool air. “Then maybe we should go somewhere more private,” He whispered next to his ear. With that being said, Phil immediately stood up, dragging Dan with him to go find a taxi.

-

It didn’t take long for the leaves to fall from the trees, and for green to turn into white. With that, brought frigid weather, and resulted in less time spent in Central Park. By the time Dan and Phil returned to their bench together, it was the day before Phil’s birthday and they needed a break from moving all of Dan’s stuff into Phil’s apartment. It turns out that Wednesday back in the Spring was the beginning of something truly amazing.

The two of them huddled close together on the bench, looking out over the now frozen lake. Dan pulled his hat further down his head to protect his ears from the biting cold as Phil sipped on his coffee. With it being Dan’s last year in college, there wasn’t much time that the two of them had together that didn’t involve mountains of textbooks, and furious typing on laptops. So when they had a chance to just be with each other, much like today, they really appreciated it.

“So, be honest with me,” Dan said. “What do you really want for your birthday?”

“I told you I don’t want anything! I just want to spend the night with you, whether it’s watching a movie on the couch, or ordering in pizza, I really don’t care what we do.”

“Phil,” Dan whined. “This makes it so much harder for me to get you something.” Phil smiled, and kissed his jutted out lip.

“Stop pouting, it’s my birthday eve after all.”

“A birthday eve isn’t a thing!”

“Well, I’m making it into a thing, so that means you can’t argue with me.”

“Phil,” Dan sighed, exasperated. “You are making this so much more difficult for me. As your boyfriend, I’m going to get you something because I want to. So, please just give me some ideas.”

“I have everything I could possibly want,” Phil said, brushing his lips against Dan’s temple.

“You are so difficult.”

“Yet you still love me.”

“Surprising, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t long before the cold seeped through their jackets and they decided to return home. As they were walking back to the street, Dan felt something hit him square in the back, causing him to turn around. This turned out to be a mistake as a snowball soared past his head, as Phil grinned.

“Phil, for you turning twenty-six tomorrow, you sure do act like a kid,” He scolded.

“And for you being twenty-one, you sure do act old.” Dan rolled his eyes, and bent down grabbing a snowball of his own. “You’re going to regret that, Lester.”

Phil laughed. “Bring it on, Howell,” He mocked, causing a snowball to him in the chest. Dan ran from him, in fear of retaliation to hide behind a large tree. He quickly grabbed a snowball of his own to fire back, just as he was hit in the face. Forgetting about his snowball, he ran towards Phil, and meant to push him into a snowbank, only he dragged Dan right along with him.

Phil laughed, unbothered by the snow he was now covered in. “That plan didn’t work out, did it?”

Dan meant to look mad, he really did, but as he gazed down at Phil and the child-like joy that was all over his face, he couldn’t help but smile and softly kiss him. “Actually, I could say this worked out pretty well.”

-

The snow soon melted, the grass began to turn green once again and the warmth from the sun soon returned. Life became busy for Dan and Phil and they didn’t make it back to Central Park until the end of May, just after Dan’s graduation. They found out that Macbeth, of all plays was being performed at Shakespeare in the Park, barely half a mile from where they were currently sitting. So of course, they bought tickets on their First Anniversary of meeting.

Dan rested his head against Phil’s shoulder, thinking about how incredibly thankful he was of meeting him. Without Phil, Dan was just going through life, but not really living. But Phil, well he’s shown Dan how to live, and has brought happiness to his otherwise average life. Before meeting him, he thought he was happiest on his own, but now, he’s been proven wrong, and that he’s happiest with Phil by his side.

He looked over at Phil and smiled, his dark eyes meeting bright blue. “I love you,” He murmured.

Phil grinned, and softly kissed Dan as his hand lightly traced his jawline; a silent affirmation of Dan’s love.

-

As time passed, life became busier for the Dan and Phil. Dan landed a job just outside Brooklyn, causing them to move and start over. The two of them were completely and irrevocably happy with their lives together.

It wasn’t until three years later, in early autumn that they made it back to Central Park. The green leaves were just beginning to turn into vibrant colors, and the sun was still shining bright in the blue sky. As they sat at their bench and overlooked thee blue lake, Phil grabbed Dan’s hand in his own, and ran his thumb across his knuckles. Dan tore his eyes away from the lake and looked at Phil’s eyes, which were of similar color.

“As much as I love living in Brooklyn, I think this will always be my favorite place.”

“Me too,” Phil agreed. “We should always try and come back here, no matter how busy life gets.”

“At least once a year,” Dan agreed.

“Yeah, I like that. Maybe we could always come back around this time of year, on this Anniversary.”

“What Anniversary? Ours is in June,” Dan replied, confused. Phil just smiled in response, taking in a deep breath.

“Well, it’s been over four years since we met, and over four years since my life completely changed for the better. I wouldn’t trade anything for these past few years. I’ve never known true happiness until you came into my life,” Phil began. “This is the place that my life really began. This is the place that I met my best friend, and my soulmate. And this is the place that I have had some of the best moments of my life. Now that I have you in my life, I never want to let you go. So with that being said,” He got up from the bench, only to get down on one knee, and pull out a velvet box from his pocket. “Will you marry me?”

Dan grinned, completely taken aback. “Of course, you idiot,” He gushed. Phil returned his grin and slid the silver band on his ring finger. In response, Dan pulled him in close and kissed him, pouring all of his emotions into this kiss. He twisted his hands into his hair and their lips moved together perfectly in sync, and he couldn’t help but think just how glad he was the park was busy that Wednesday.

-

As promised, Dan and Phil returned every year in the beginning of September. The next year they even returned twice, one for the Anniversary of their engagement, and the other for their wedding. It only made sense for the two of them to return to where it all began; and everything about it was actually perfect.

As imagined, life only got busier yet they still came back every September. But now, six years later, they came to the park with a third member of their family. Dan and Phil watched as their son was running and laughing. Life was better than either of them could have ever imagined it to be. 

Dan rested his head on Phil’s shoulder, and skimmed the book he was reading, smiling when he saw that it was Hamlet.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I have about 5 Dan/Phil oneshots already written which I'll be posting within this series in the next few days as I'm moving them over from my old tumblr account. Please let me know what you think and let me know if you have any prompts you'd like to see!


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